Heiho Uniform On Mannequin, Monjali
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were units raised by the
Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...
during its occupation of the Dutch East Indies in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Alongside the ''Heiho'', the Japanese organized ''Giyūgun'' (義勇軍, "Volunteer army"), such as the
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
-based "
Defenders of the Homeland The Defenders of the Homeland (; , PETA) was a volunteer army established on 3 October 1943 in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) by the occupying Japanese. The Japanese intended PETA to assist their forces in opposing a possible inv ...
" (PETA; , ). Indonesian youths who joined the ''Heiho'' were never given high ranks or positions, contrasted by the young people who were members of PETA or other ''Giyūgun'' and often received appointments and promotions. This discrimination carried over into public life, where ''Heiho'' members had to salute any Japanese citizen, both civilians and military. The name was mostly used to point about Indonesian units of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces, although over time it had become coined as the term to refer to any unit the collaborated with Japan regardless of ethnicity. In addition, there was also a difference in salary, accommodation, and food with the ''heitai'' (兵隊, "soldiers") of the ''Giyūgun'', which were adjusted according to the
social status Social status is the relative level of social value a person is considered to possess. Such social value includes respect, honour, honor, assumed competence, and deference. On one hand, social scientists view status as a "reward" for group members ...
of the individual ''Heiho'' soldier. The monthly salary of a ''Heiho'' was only 30
rupiah The rupiah (Currency symbol, symbol: Rp; ISO 4217, currency code: IDR) is the official currency of Indonesia, issued and controlled by Bank Indonesia. Its name is derived from the Sanskrit word for silver, (). Sometimes, Indonesians also inform ...
for bachelors and 35 rupiah for married members. Still, many youths hoped that recruitment into ''Heiho'' would serve as a stepping stone for a military career to improve their social standing, receive Japanese salaries, and avoid the ''
rōmusha (compare ''corvée''), is a Japanese language word for a "paid conscripted laborer." In English, it usually refers to non-Japanese who were forced to work for the Japanese military during World War II. The U.S. Library of Congress estimates that ...
'' forced labor system.


History

The auxiliary force was formed by order of the army section of the
Imperial General Headquarters The was part of the Supreme War Council (Japan), Supreme War Council and was established in 1893 to coordinate efforts between the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy during wartime. In terms of function, it was approximately equi ...
on 2 September 1942 and began recruiting members on 22 April 1943 since the purposes between the Imperial Japanese Army in Indonesia, which wanted to supplement insufficient military forces because their soldiers were transferred to other frontlines, and Indonesia, which hoped to have self-made armies, matched. The Japanese ''Sendenbu'' (宣伝部, "Publicity Department") propagated that ''Heiho'' was an opportunity for young people to serve their homeland and people. The requirements to become a member of ''Heiho'' were to be between 18 and 25 years old, have a minimum height of , an average weight of , be physically and mentally healthy, be well-behaved, and have completed at least
primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...
. The selected youths were promised to become members of the Imperial Army or
Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...
. In practice, however, ''Heiho'' were mostly put to work performing menial labor for the Japanese Army; constructing fortifications, digging trenches, and guarding prisoners. As a result, ''Heiho'' quickly became a lightly armed labor force as the only weapons handed out to the auxiliaries were ''taiken'' (隊剣, "corps sword"). Later, the ''Heiho'' members were given firearms when the Japanese were being pushed back by the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...
. They would also be sent to the front lines with Japanese forces and became involved in combat on several battlefields of the
Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...
, including in the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
,
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, Morotai (in present-day
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
),
Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...
(
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
),
Balikpapan Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated 20 ...
(Indonesia), and
Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
. Due to lack of training, they were more often than not used as
cannon fodder Cannon fodder is an informal, derogatory term for combatants who are regarded or treated by government or military command as expendable in the face of enemy fire. The term is generally used in situations where combatants are forced to fight agains ...
or "martyred" as
suicide bombers A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...
when a Japanese defeat seemed imminent. After receiving several months of training, the ''Heiho'' troops were considered to have better military capabilities than PETA troops. On that basis, ''Heiho'' members were reassigned to
air defence Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...
,
field artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support army, armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the ear ...
,
armor Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...
, mortar, and
logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...
units. The recruitment of ''Heiho'' into the Japanese army was followed by their recruitment as ''Kenpeihō'' (憲兵法, "Auxiliary military police") for the ''
Kenpeitai The , , was the military police of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The organization also shared civilian secret police that specialized in clandestine and covert operation, counterinsurgency, counterintelligence, HUMINT, interrogated suspects ...
'' and ''Kaigun Heiho'' (海軍兵補, "Navy auxiliaries") for the Japanese navy. ''Heiho'' were not led by ethnic Indonesian commanders, but were under the command of Japanese officers. The training given was not related to organizational or military theory, but solely to
physical fitness Physical fitness is a state of health and well-being and, more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of Outline of sports, sports, occupations, and daily activities. Physical fitness is generally achieved through proper nutrition, modera ...
, the concept of ''seishin'' (精神, "spirit"), and the fostering of death-defying courage. By the end of the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, the number of ''Heiho'' troops was estimated to be 42,000 men (24,873 on Java, 2,504 on
Timor Timor (, , ) is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is Indonesia–Timor-Leste border, divided between the sovereign states of Timor-Leste in the eastern part and Indonesia in the ...
, and 15,000 in other areas). The ''Heiho'' was dissolved by the
Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence The Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence (, abbreviated as PPKI; , Hepburn romanization, Hepburn: ) was a body established on 7 August 1945 to prepare for the transfer of authority from the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indie ...
(PPKI; , ) after the
surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...
and a number of auxiliaries went on to become members of the
People's Security Agency The People's Security Army () or commonly abbreviated as TKR is the name of the first military force formed by the Indonesian Government, after the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence. TKR was formed on October 5, 1945, based on an announcemen ...
(BKR; ).


See also

*
Collaboration with Imperial Japan Before and during World War II, the Empire of Japan created a number of List of World War II puppet states, puppet states that played a noticeable role in the war by collaborating with Imperial Japan. With promises of "Asia for the Asiatics" coo ...
*
Defenders of the Homeland The Defenders of the Homeland (; , PETA) was a volunteer army established on 3 October 1943 in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) by the occupying Japanese. The Japanese intended PETA to assist their forces in opposing a possible inv ...
*
Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies The Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of the war in September 1945. In May 1940, Germany German invasion of the Netherlands, occupied the Netherlands, and ma ...


References

{{Collaboration with Axis Powers Indonesian collaborators with Imperial Japan Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies Military units and formations of Imperial Japan